Solar Highways

Rijkswaterstaat (the executive body of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment) is developing a sustainable noise barrier which absorbs traffic noise and generates energy. The innovative barrier is constructed using solar cells which generate energy on both sides. The Solar Highways project has been awarded a LIFE+ grant from the European Commission worth about €1.4 million. Rijkswaterstaat is conducting this project with its partners ECN and SEAC. Construction of the 400-metre barrier will start in 2017. From 2018 the barrier is expexted to provide about 40 households with locally-generated ‘green’ electricity.

This project is made possible in part thanks to LIFE+ financing from the European Union.